This Week In Island History

The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 100 years ago came from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.

100 years ago

From the Newport Journal, January 31, 1913

[At the Town Council meeting] a vote was passed permitting the rental of the town hall for dancing, under the supervision of the town sergeant.

Permission was granted to the Bay State Company to set poles in the highways, under the supervision of the president of the council and the supervision of highway district No. 2.

The schools have been closed for one week, on account of several cases of scarlet fever. If more develop, or it is otherwise deemed advisable, they will remain closed two weeks.

75 years ago

From the Newport Daily News, January 29, 1938

[At the Town Council meeting it was voted that] the communication from Postmaster Samuel W. Smith III in regard to extending the village carrier mail route to Douglas, Swinburne, Fowler, Valley and Harriet streets, and Plymouth Road, be received and filed.

It was voted that the building committee be instructed to obtain estimates on a heating plant for the town hall.

50 years ago

From the Newport Daily News, January 25, 1963

Jamestown rallied in the final period to defeat the Fifth Ward, 68-63, in a Newport County Boy’s Club senior basketball league game last night in Webster gym. From the Newport Daily News,

January 29, 1963

A letter from the Jamestown Town Council told Gov. Chafee that it does not object to the construction of the Newport Bay Bridge as long as it does not involve the taking of the Jamestown Bridge.

25 years ago From the Newport Daily News,

January 26, 1988

The Town Council will fight efforts by two residents to claim title to several paper streets at the northern end of Jamestown.

15 years ago

From the Jamestown Press,

January 29, 1998

Town officials will present a combined town government and school budget totaling some $11.55 million at the upcoming financial town meeting. [The proposed spending plan would put the new tax rate at $15.20 per $1,000 of property valuation, up 5.4 percent of the current rate of $14.42.]

Parents, students, teachers and administrators all over the state are talking about the School Accountability Learning and Teaching survey, and Jamestown is no exception. [The survey is designated to offer each school a context for understanding its student performance results, and is a tool to help each school with its improvement planning efforts.]

Some campers at the townowned Fort Getty campground will be paying higher rates this season. While seasonal campers will see no hike in their $2,010 fees, acting on recommendations made by the head of the Recreation Department, the Town Council voted Monday to raise the daily parking fee from $6 to $8 and increase the daily parking with a boat trailer fee from $7 to $10. Nightly tenting will now cost $20 instead of $17, and owners of RVs will have to shell out $25 a night rather than the $22 they paid last summer.

10 years ago

From the Jamestown Press,

January 30, 2003

The state Department of Environmental Management has finally issued a permit on Friday, Jan. 24, for the Russian-flagged mackerel and herring vessel, the MV Dauriya, to participate in joint venture commercial fishing operations in Rhode Island with other east coast fishermen.

In commemoration of the 10th year of playing concerts and marching in parades, the Jamestown Community Band will present four special concerts in addition to regular programming throughout the year. The band consists of about 25 musicians, of varying ages, who love to play good music.